The state Public Service Commission on Thursday directed Suez, formerly known as United Water New York, to abandon the controversial Haverstraw desalination project.

The commission also approved Suez's plan to avoid the need to draw water from the Hudson River by improving conservation, controlling leaks and finding alternative water sources.

In 2006, the commission ordered United Water to come up with another long-term water source to address future needs. In response, the company unveiled the Hudson River water treatment plant project. The project soon became a focus of controversy, as opponents questioned whether alternatives had truly been explored. United Water provides drinking water to most homes and businesses in Rockland.

The Rockland Water Coalition, a partnership of area environmental and civic groups, petitioned the commission to block the plan, asserting that the county's water needs were nowhere near as dire as United Water portrayed. In November 2014, the state agency put a freeze on the project, ruling that there was no need for another water source.

Thursday's ruling officially ended the project.

"It is our obligation to ensure the company takes all appropriate action to provide a clean and reliable water supply," said Audrey Zibelman, chairwoman for the PSC, in a statement. "The record demonstrates that circumstances have changed since the commission first asked the company to develop a new longterm water supply in 2006. The development of a comprehensive water conservation plan by the utility and the community will help meet the needs of the community for the next decade."

Bill Madden, a Suez spokesman, praised the commission's decision, saying that it "establishes a clear path forward while acknowledging all of our actions since 2006 on the Haverstraw water supply project were prudent and appropriate."
"We are eager to continue to work with our regulators and all our stakeholders to formulate ways to meet Rockland's long-term water demand," he said.

Opponents who called for alternatives to the $150-million-plus project also praised the ruling.

"We are very pleased with the Public Service Commission's decision," said George Potanovic, a founder of the coalition, noting that the project was "unnecessary, expensive and not needed at least for 10 years."

Hudson River advocates such as Scenic Hudson and Riverkeeper also welcomed the decision.

"This is a major victory for smarter use of our water resources, ​and it was fought for and won by the citizens of Rockland ​and our other partner groups," Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay said.

The county's Task Force on Water Resources Management has been working with Suez to identify conservation opportunities and supply alternatives. That relationship turned sour this summer when a study by a water conservation analyst criticized the company's leaky pipes and inadequate record keeping.

Rockland County Legislator Harriet Cornell said on Thursday that the task force and the company have been working together again, and that the PSC's decision will help them achieve the goal of saving water. Cornell serves as task force chairwoman.

"I think it enables United Water, now Suez, and the Rockland Task Force on Water Resources Management to focus attention on conservation and not be divided over the issue of desalination plant," Cornell said. "Everybody can focus on how best to conserve water and how best to decrease demand in a variety of ways, which are happening already but so many more things to be done."

Zibelman, the PSC chairwoman, applauded the task force's efforts, along with those community members. But she emphasized that efforts have to continue.

"This is a three-pronged approach: conservation, leak detection and then looking for new sources of supply," Zibelman said. "Like any other three-legged stool, if one of those doesn't work the way we want it to, it becomes wobbly. So it's going to be very, very important that we are aggressive in the pursuit of conservation."